Word study
See
14 Hebrew and 18 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: see, saw, seen, seed, sees, seeing. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “see” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- רָאָה rââhseetranslated this way 831 times of its 1,266 uses · Strong’s H7200Verb · Translated: see 354, saw 285, seen 124, look 45Full study and all 1,181 verses →
Genesis 1:4 And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
Exodus 2:2 and she conceived and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him for three months.
- הִנֵּה hinnêhlo! behold!translated this way 81 times of its 689 uses · Strong’s H2009Interjection · Translated: Behold 175, Look 83, saw 47, indeed 36Full study and all 662 verses →
Genesis 6:12 And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.
Exodus 2:13 The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
- זֶרַע zerasowing, seed, offspringtranslated this way 36 times of its 220 uses · Strong’s H2233Noun · Translated: descendants 78, offspring 45, seed 34, children 10Full study and all 201 verses →
Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.
Exodus 16:31 Now the house of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
- חָזָה châzâhsee, beholdtranslated this way 32 times of its 54 uses · Strong’s H2372Verb · Translated: see 18, seen 6, saw 5, sees 3Full study and all 50 verses →
Exodus 24:11 But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.
Numbers 24:4 the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
- חֲזָא chăzâgaze upon, dream, be usualtranslated this way 15 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s H2370Verb · Translated: saw 12, watched 6, see 3, watching 2Full study and all 29 verses →
Daniel 2:8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time because you see that my word is final.
Daniel 2:26 The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?”
- נָבַט nâbaṭlooktranslated this way 9 times of its 68 uses · Strong’s H5027Verb · Translated: look 24, looked 8, see 7, consider 6Full study and all 66 verses →
Numbers 12:8 I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
1 Samuel 2:32 You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age.
- הֵן hênlo! beholdtranslated this way 8 times of its 249 uses · Strong’s H2005Interjection · Translated: Behold 108, indeed 23, if 16, Surely 15Full study and all 241 verses →
2 Samuel 16:8 The LORD has paid you back for all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, you have come to ruin because you are a man of bloodshed!”
2 Chronicles 20:16 Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.
- עַיִן ayineyetranslated this way 5 times of its 764 uses · Strong’s H5869Noun · Translated: eyes 383, sight 186, eye 38, presence 13Full study and all 731 verses →
Leviticus 13:5 On the seventh day the priest is to reexamine him, and if he sees that the infection is unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest must isolate him for another seven days.
Numbers 11:6 But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”
- שׁוּר shûrbehold, regardtranslated this way 5 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H7789Verb · Translated: see 4, watch 3, behold 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Job 7:8 The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more.
Job 17:15 where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?
- יָדַע yâdaknowtranslated this way 4 times of its 914 uses · Strong’s H3045Verb · Translated: know 453, known 53, knows 48, knew 38Full study and all 863 verses →
Genesis 24:21 Meanwhile, the man watched her silently to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey a success.
Exodus 2:4 And his sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
- מַרְאֶה marehsight, appearance, visiontranslated this way 3 times of its 76 uses · Strong’s H4758Noun · Translated: appearance 16, vision 8, appear 6, sight 5Full study and all 63 verses →
Leviticus 13:12 But if the skin disease breaks out all over his skin so that it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot, as far as the priest can see,
Ecclesiastes 6:9 Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- מְגֵרָה megêrâhsawtranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H4050Noun · Translated: saws 3, axes 1Full study and all 3 verses →
2 Samuel 12:31 David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
1 Kings 7:9 All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard.
- שָׁזַף shâzaphcatch sight of, look ontranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H7805Verb · Translated: saw 1, seen 1, gazed 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Job 20:9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.
Job 28:7 No bird of prey knows that path; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
- שָׁמַר shâmarkeep, watch, preservetranslated this way 2 times of its 461 uses · Strong’s H8104Verb · Translated: keep 133, careful 39, kept 33, guard 25Full study and all 436 verses →
Numbers 28:2 “Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My food offerings, as a pleasing aroma to Me.
Deuteronomy 12:32 See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ὁράω horáōI see, look upon, experiencetranslated this way 380 times of its 445 uses · Strong’s G3708Verb · Translated: saw 183, see 121, seen 60, appeared 18Full study and all 424 verses →
Matthew 2:2 asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Mark 1:10 As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.
- βλέπω blépōI look, seetranslated this way 87 times of its 128 uses · Strong’s G991Verb · Translated: see 53, seeing 10, saw 8, sees 6Full study and all 117 verses →
Matthew 6:4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Mark 4:12 so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’”
- θεωρέω theōréōI behold, look at, experiencetranslated this way 50 times of its 58 uses · Strong’s G2334Verb · Translated: see 23, saw 16, sees 6, watching 3Full study and all 56 verses →
Matthew 28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
Mark 3:11 And when the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”
- ἰδού idoúSee! Lo! Behold! Look!translated this way 32 times of its 163 uses · Strong’s G2400Verb · Translated: Look 50, Behold 31, See 23, here 10Full study and all 160 verses →
Matthew 21:5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Mark 14:42 Rise, let us go. See, My betrayer is approaching!”
- θεάομαι theáomaiI see, behold, contemplate, visittranslated this way 20 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s G2300Verb · Translated: seen 8, saw 7, see 5, look 1Full study and all 22 verses →
Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Mark 16:11 And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.
- σπέρμα spérmaseed, offspringtranslated this way 13 times of its 42 uses · Strong’s G4690Noun · Translated: seed 10, offspring 10, descendants 10, children 5Full study and all 39 verses →
Matthew 13:24 Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
Mark 4:31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
- σπόρος spórosseed for sowingtranslated this way 6 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G4703Noun · Translated: seed 5, store of seed 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Mark 4:26 Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.
Luke 8:5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.
- κόκκος kókkosa kernel, graintranslated this way 4 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G2848Noun · Translated: seed 3, mustard seed 1, kernel 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Matthew 13:31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.
Mark 4:31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
- ἀναβλέπω anablépōI look up, recover my sighttranslated this way 4 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s G308Verb · Translated: looking 4, looked 4, see 4, received his sight 4Full study and all 23 verses →
Mark 10:51 “What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Rabboni,” said the blind man, “let me see again.”
Luke 18:41 “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “let me see again.”
- κατανοέω katanoéōI understand, perceive, considertranslated this way 2 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s G2657Verb · Translated: Consider 3, notice 2, saw 2, look 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Luke 20:23 But Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them,
Acts 11:6 I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.
- ἐμβλέπω emblépōI look into, look upontranslated this way 2 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G1689Verb · Translated: looked 6, Look 1, see 1, looked directly 1Full study and all 11 verses →
Mark 8:25 Once again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, and when he opened them his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly.
John 1:36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
- προοράω prooráōI foreseetranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G4308Verb · Translated: saw 1, Foreseeing 1, previously seen 1, foresaw 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Acts 2:25 David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Acts 21:29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
- σπείρω speírōI sow, spread, scattertranslated this way 2 times of its 52 uses · Strong’s G4687Verb · Translated: sown 18, sows 9, sow 8, farmer 4Full study and all 42 verses →
Matthew 13:3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
Mark 4:3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
- διασκορπίζω diaskorpízōI scatter, winnow, disperse, wastetranslated this way 2 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G1287Verb · Translated: scattered 5, scattered seed 2, squandered 1, wasting 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Matthew 25:24 Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
Matthew 25:26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.
- σίναπι sínapimustardtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G4615Noun · Translated: mustard 2, mustard seed 2Full study and all 4 verses →
Luke 13:19 It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
Luke 17:6 And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
- διαβλέπω diablépōI see through, see clearlytranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G1227Verb · Translated: see clearly 2, opened 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Luke 6:42 How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
- ἐποπτεύω epopteúōI am an eyewitness of, beholdtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G2029Verb · Translated: see 2Full study and all 2 verses →
1 Peter 2:12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
1 Peter 3:2 when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.
- φαίνω phaínōI shine, appear, seemtranslated this way 2 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s G5316Verb · Translated: appeared 7, appear 3, shining 3, seen 2Full study and all 31 verses →
Matthew 6:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
Matthew 9:33 And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.